Franco Albini Seating
While working under the polymath Gio Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian modernism — furniture designer Franco Albini nurtured a love for modern forms combined with traditional craft techniques.
Albini is widely known for working with organic materials such as rattan and cane for his chairs and other seating, but he also played a pivotal role in the Italian rationalist movement of the early 20th century, which saw architects and furniture makers applying a strict emphasis on geometry in their work. Rationalists drew on Ancient Roman architecture but rejected ornament, much in the way that Le Corbusier and celebrated Bauhaus figures such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had in their modernist furniture.
Albini received his degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1929, and, in 1931, he founded his practice in Milan, where he tackled workers’ housing and other reconstruction projects. A gifted urban planner, he also developed the Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Tesoro di San Lorenzo museums in Genoa. While Albini is revered for his Margherita chair — a Triennale Milano award winner created for Bonacina in 1951 — he also collaborated with manufacturers Poggi and Cassina in the 1940s on seating, tables and more that embodied his artistic vision. Of that mid-century work, the one piece that perhaps best captures this vision is the iconic Luisa chair.
With its cherry red upholstery and sinuous wooden legs that seem to float aboveground, the Luisa is a genuine masterpiece. It is also a testament to Albini’s perfectionism, as it endured several prototypes — including one made by Knoll in the late 1940s — and took approximately 15 years to design. Poggi launched the final version of the armchair in 1955, earning Albini the prestigious Compasso d’Oro from Italy’s Association for Industrial Design. It is produced today by Cassina. Albini named the chair for someone who likely saw the process firsthand: his personal secretary of two decades, Luisa Colombini.
Find vintage Franco Albini furniture on 1stDibs.
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Wicker, Rattan
1930s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Steel
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Rattan
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Rattan
20th Century Franco Albini Seating
Chrome
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Straw
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Reed
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Wood
Mid-19th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Antique Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Wicker, Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Wicker
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
1950s German Bauhaus Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Chrome
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Rattan, Reed
1960s European Bohemian Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Wicker
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Iron
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Rattan
Early 2000s Italian Modern Franco Albini Seating
Leather, Harewood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Brass
1950s American Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Walnut
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Upholstery, Wicker, Rattan
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Rattan
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Metal
1960s Italian Bohemian Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Rattan
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Wood, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Franco Albini Seating
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Stainless Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Bamboo, Rattan
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Walnut, Fabric
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Franco Albini Seating
Rattan
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Franco Albini Seating
Fabric, Wood